The Start Of Something REALLY New
by darciewritestoo
Summary: Chad and Ryan love each other. Because of this, Taylor hates them both.
1. Troy's Observations

**Hello! I've decided to jump on the Chad/Ryan bandwagon, as you can tell. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine. This is because even though Chad and Ryan obviously want each other, Disney will never let this happen. Chad will end up Taylor, and Ryan will end up with Kelsi or Martha or whatever, and they will live miserably... um, I mean, **_**happily**_** ever after. Also, even though I'm not personally a Troy/Gabriella fan, I'm keeping them together for this story. I might mock Gabriella a little. And Troy. But really, deep down they're good people. Anywho, if I owned these characters, they would not be hooking up with who they're hooking up with in the two HSM movies!**

**Also, for this story, please disregard what's happening in the possible future-HSM3. This is my version, even though I'm not writing in songs or anything :) **

**On to the Chad/Ryan lovin'. **

**  
Well, even though this part is oddly enough from Troy's p.o.v. After this it'll be from Chad and Ryan's p.o.v.**

o O o O o O o O o

School had started a week ago. The students of East High were gradually getting back into the swing of things. Well, the brainiacs already had, but the rest of the student body was catching up. The only person Troy was worried about was Chad. Ever since the mid-summer his best friend had been acting weirder and weirder. He hadn't been talking as much, which wasn't normal for him. Usually he expressed his obnoxious opinion on almost any matter. He still did when he was with Troy, but when they were in their group of friends, he was totally silent.

Troy just didn't get it.

As creepy as it sounded, he watched Chad in class. Troy had noticed that Chad hardly ever spoke out in some classes, but in some classes he did. What about those classes was different than the others? The people in it? Who was different?

The whole gang had Darbus for homeroom _again_. Chad was usually quiet then. Then Troy and Chad had physics. Chad shouted out sarcastic answers in that class. But then in English, which they had with the Evans twins, Taylor, Gabriella, and Martha, he was quiet again. He was also quiet in math, which they had with the Evans twins and Kelsi.

Eventually, Troy concluded that Chad was silent in the classes that Sharpay and Ryan (who had the same schedule, of course) were in.

And it was funny, because he and Ryan had become pretty good friends during the summer.

It made no sense, so he decided to ask the smartest girl he knew.

After homeroom one day, Troy walked Gabriella to her locker, and asked her if she had noticed Chad was acting weird.

"Yeah, a little bit. I think he's just tired or something. He had the whole summer off and then got sucked back into the whole school routine. Give him a few days." Gabriella told him, giving him that I'm-Gabriella-And-I'm-Brilliant-But-Modest smile.

Troy nodded. "You could be right. It's just that he's never acted like this before when school started. He's always obnoxious to teachers and stuff, and that _always_ begins on the first day of school."

"Why don't you ask him, then?"

"I can't ask him that stuff, Gabriella!" Troy said, imagining the horror.

"Why not?"

"It's a guy thing. Can you imagine it? 'Hey, Chad. You seem to be acting weird lately. Want to talk about your feelings?' Thanks, but no thanks."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I'm going to be late to AP Calc. See you later, Troy." She smiled slightly, kissed his cheek, and headed down the hall.

Troy was late to physics. He smiled apologetically to his teacher and took his seat next to Chad.

"And where were you, Mr. Bolton?" The teacher asked him, stopping in front of Troy's desk.

"Um. I was talking to Gabriella Montez about an important project." Troy answered quickly.

"Meaning, he was getting lucky." Chad said, immediately following Troy's answer.

Both Troy and the teacher rolled their eyes, and their teacher walked away. Troy leaned over to his best friend. "Okay, why don't you act like that all the time?"

"Like what?" Chad asked, giving him a confused look.

"Obnoxious! In some classes, if I come in late, you say nothing. In this one, you make some sex joke about me and Gabriella! What's with you, man?"

"Nothing's 'with me'!" Chad said. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well, then say something really annoying to Mr. Roberts next period. I know you usually don't plan that stuff, but do it anyway."

"Fine! I will!" Chad said. "Oh, and another thing. I'm not annoying. I'm witty."

o O o O o O o O o

In English class, Troy took his seat next to Gabriella, as Chad sat in front of him, next to Taylor. Troy wasn't trying to ignore Gabriella or anything, but he had to watch them.

"Troy, what are you doing?" Gabriella leaned over and whispered.

"Gabby, look. Look at them." Troy said. Gabriella looked at their friends as well and at once, Troy knew she saw it too. Taylor was leaning as close as she could to Chad, talking to him, trying to flirt with him. Chad talked to her, but seemed to take no notice. He didn't hit on Taylor. He didn't acknowledge that she was trying to flirt with him. Nothing.

"Maybe he's sick." Gabriella noted quietly. "I'll ask Taylor if she's noticed. She has to have noticed."

"He doesn't seem sick." Troy said. "He just seems... different."

That was when Sharpay entered the room, with Ryan beside her. She walked into the room as if time would stop for her, as if she were a celebrity. Well, and she was. She was the celebrity of the school. Troy couldn't believe he let her control him over the summer. And he couldn't believe that Ryan was back to being Sharpay's little slave, right after she had treated him like crap.

"Hi Troy!" Sharpay chirped. In a duller voice, she said, "The rest of you."

"Hi, _Ryan_. Sharpay." Taylor said, smiling at Ryan, and looking critically at Sharpay. Troy looked to see if Chad would say anything, but he didn't. He just sat there, staring at the Evans twins. More specifically, he was staring at Ryan. Ryan, of all people. Ryan, not Sharpay. Troy looked away, and then looked again. No, his best friend was still staring at Ryan.

Now, _that _made no sense. For one thing, Chad wasn't gay. Second, Ryan was the gayest thing since Liberace (for the record, Troy only knew who Liberace was because Ryan mentioned him during musical practice last winter). Chad didn't make fun of gay people, but he did usually make fun of anything girly or flamboyant. So why was he staring at Ryan so... intensely? Why did Ryan smirk back at him?

"Gabriella..." Troy whispered.

"I know. I see it too." Gabriella replied.

The Evans twins took their seats. Sharpay next to Chad, and Ryan behind her, next to Troy.

And during class, Chad said nothing. Not one thing. He sat there, faced the front, and shut up. Not a very 'Chad' thing to do.

And then everything clicked.

o O o O o O o O o

"It makes no sense, Gabby!" Troy said to his girlfriend in a hushed voice at his locker after lunch. "It's Chad!"

"Not all gay people are flamers, Troy." Gabriella said. "And maybe Chad's not gay. Maybe he's bisexual... or pansexual."

"Pan...sexual?"

"It means personality is more important than looks or gender."

"Well, whatever he is, it makes no sense!"

"It'd make sense if you saw the baseball game this summer. Ryan and Chad were... well... a little intense. Everyone thought it was just a rivalry. But... well, it seemed like an attraction kind of rivalry."

Troy gave his girlfriend a feeble smile. "He'd better tell me about this eventually."

Gabriella smiled back at him, and kissed him like she had earlier. "I'm glad I have such an open-minded boyfriend."

Troy laughed. "Well, we were involved in the school musical. Once you've been involved with theatre, you've seen everything."

o O o O o O o O o

**Yay! Troy is open-minded... in his own kinda lol-able way. Chad just doesn't know that (hint for the future of the story). **

**Oh, and this chapter was sort of a prologue. The next chapter will be from Chad's point of view and it's going to backtrack a little, to the summer. **


	2. Chad Is Disturbed

**Here is chapter 2! It's written from Chad's point of view and the beginning backtracks to the summer.**

o O o O o O o O o

Usually Chad would go to Troy if he had a problem. Troy always had the solution. That was why he was the captain of their basketball team and no one had any problem with it. He was usually so good with leading the team, and he could talk through any of his friends' problems without breaking a sweat.

Chad, who lay in bed, wished he could talk to Troy now. But, see, Troy was being an ass. _Troy_, Mr. I'm-Too-Good-For-My-High-School-Friends, was hanging out with college kids and Sharpay. _Sharpay_! If he was trying to alienate his friends and girlfriend on purpose, it was working.

Earlier that day, there had been a baseball game. No harm in that, right? Chad never would have thought so, considering he was one of East High's most well known jocks. But Gabriella invited Ryan, Sharpay's brother, to the game.

At first, Chad thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world. What would this thespian, this actor, this singer, this _dancer_, know about baseball?

Of course, Ryan proved everybody wrong. Ryan Evans proved that one could be a dancer, an actor, a singer, and a jock. Of course, Troy had proven that during the winter musical, but Troy wasn't exactly determined to get a part in the next one.

Something messed up happened during the baseball game, though, and Chad couldn't even understand it himself.

He found himself mesmerized by Ryan. The way Ryan played baseball. The way Ryan was dancing _while_ he was playing baseball. Whatever Ryan did during the game, Chad reacted to it. Somehow it got to the point where he wanted to march up to Ryan and do _something_ to him. Something... something shocking. He wanted to kiss Ryan (and do other stuff with him), and he didn't know how to make the feeling go away.

He needed to make the feeling go away. After all, he had a girlfriend. Taylor. He kept forgetting about Taylor, and during the game, even though she was watching it, Chad forgot about her completely. He didn't mean to. She was a great girl. But Taylor didn't mesmerize him. Ryan did.

After the game, Chad asked Ryan what he would have to do if he participated in the Lava Springs Country Club talent show. Ryan didn't really say anything in return.

Chad started walking back toward the building he seemed to spend every waking moment of his summer in. Ryan caught up to him.

"Hey, that was such a great game." Ryan said.

"Yeah." Chad said. He didn't get it. He'd say more, but he felt nervous. Why should he feel nervous? It was just Ryan. Just Sharpay's brother, who often trailed behind her. Why should he make Chad nervous?

"That outfit is very... wildcat." Ryan suddenly said, looking him over.

"And that hat is very..." Chad began. He couldn't come up with a description off the top of his head, though, like Ryan could. Plus he was still nervous. When would it go away? He was Chad Danforth. People didn't make him nervous. "Striped."

"Nice observation." Ryan replied.

"You know what would be kind of cool?" Chad suddenly blurted out.

"What?"

"If we switched."

"_Switched_?"

"Yeah, like if we went somewhere and switched clothes. You'd wear mine and I'd wear yours. I don't know... it seemed funnier when I thought of it. Forget it." Chad looked away, annoyed that his face was burning up. "Sorry."

"Let's do it." Ryan said.

So they did. And everyone did think it was hilarious. Ryan was invited to hang out with the gang for as long as he wanted, and Chad could tell that made him happy. Finally he could be an individual, and not overshadowed by his sister. This made Chad happy too, but not just for the same reason. There was another reason too, a reason he would never tell Ryan or anyone. The reason?

Ryan looked kind of good in Chad's clothes.

o O o O o O o O o

And now Chad was home, thinking about his previous thoughts about Ryan. And now they wouldn't stop! He kept imagining Ryan dancing, playing baseball, and wearing his clothes. And the images just wouldn't leave his head!

Thinking about Taylor didn't help.

This was seriously disturbing. And he could never tell anyone about this. None of his basketball friends. They were jocks, after all. He couldn't talk to Taylor about this... and not Gabriella, since she was Taylor's best friend. He figured anybody else would blab to Taylor.

The only person he could talk to about this was Ryan, but he also COULDN'T talk to him, since this was directed to him.

o O o O o O o O o

The rest of the summer was torture.

He tried to be cool around Ryan. He could be cool around anybody else (even Troy, who stopped being a jerk). As the summer progressed though, he started getting more and more weird around Ryan, as Ryan gained more and more confidence. After the talent show, he started hanging out with Sharpay again, but he also remained friends with the whole group of Wildcats. Chad noticed that Sharpay didn't treat Ryan like dirt anymore. She actually treated him like a friend. She also was a tiny bit nicer to the rest of the Wildcats.

And all the while Chad pretended to like Taylor, though he couldn't get Ryan out of his head.

When school started, he found out that he had several classes with Ryan and Sharpay, to his horror.

It wasn't long before Troy noticed that Chad was acting weird. He even had the nerve to ask Chad why he wasn't as obnoxious anymore! Chad, of course, insisted that nothing was wrong with him. Troy didn't look like he believed him, but at least he shut up. Chad did have to promise to make some sarcastic comment in a class... it never happened. Oh well, maybe Troy didn't remember.

Chad WOULD have said something, of course, but then he thought of what RYAN would think of him. Last year, it never mattered that Ryan Evans was in his classes. Now it seemed like the only thing that mattered.

One day in the third week of school, Darbus made some announcement for planning the winter musical early. Sharpay, of course, jumped up and volunteered to help out with whatever she could. Ryan said pretty much the same thing in a less, well, loud way.

Then Gabriella, and strangely enough, Troy, volunteered. What was Troy thinking? He knew this would interfere with his pre-season practice!

But then Chad, who had a moment of temporary insanity, raised his hand. "I can help out. With... building scenery or whatever."

"Well, Mr. Danforth." said Ms. Darbus. "I see you have come over from the dark side."

Chad didn't really care, and just shrugged. The only thing that mattered was the blond boy he saw out of the corner of his eye, smiling at him.

o O o O o O o O o

**Yeah, Chad/Ryan is definitely my new favorite pairing. :D **


	3. Ryan's Right All The Time

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been a few days longer than usual. I'm back at school and stuff so I have less time, but I'm still going to do my best to update as often as I can. Thanks for all the good words. Haha. **

**Enjoy.**

o O o O o O o O o

Troy and Chad were both able to compromise with Coach Bolton so that they could spend time both on the musical, and on basketball. Everyone had been surprised when Chad signed up to help with the musical. Troy had even asked him if he was feeling okay. Chad had just shrugged off all of the comments, just concentrating on Ryan. _Ryan_ didn't ask him if he was sick. Ryan had some kind of smile on his face whenever Chad and Troy kept coming to the drama meetings.

Kelsi had finished another musical, and Darbus happened to love it. She announced the the drama club that they would be doing Kelsi's show. People who wanted to audition should sign up and start practicing, and they should start building the set.

"You know," Troy said as he and Chad painted a house they had just built the previous day. "Last winter, I didn't even know what to expect when I did the musical. But it was fun. I wasn't going to try out for anything this year, but Gabriella convinced me. Maybe you could try out for something. It's not like everyone prances around in these things."

"I don't know. I think I'm more behind-the-scenes." Chad replied, not looking at Troy. He was concentrating on Ryan and Sharpay, who seemed to be having a very animated conversation. Sharpay kept gesturing in Chad's direction, and Ryan kept rolling his eyes at her.

"That's cool, man. I have to go talk to Gabriella about something. I'll be back." Troy said suddenly. He headed in the direction of his girlfriend, who was looking over the score of the new musical with Kelsi.

Chad looked over at Sharpay and Ryan and now knew why Troy was so eager to escape. They were walking towards Chad; Sharpay looked angry, and Ryan looked annoyed.

"Chad." Sharpay said coldly. "I think you're up to something! Why else would YOU be HERE?" Chad looked behind her, to her brother, who just rolled his eyes.

"Sharpay, you've learned nothing, have you?" Chad asked, smirking. "We don't all just have to be one thing. I'm not trying to ruin the musical. I'm just helping out."

"Ahh!" Sharpay stamped her foot, and then began marching out. "Come on, Ryan!"

"Actually, sis, I'm staying. Have fun solving your little mystery!" Ryan called. His sister didn't even look back. He then knelt down next to Chad and grabbed a paintbrush. Chad watched in awe as Ryan began to paint the house. "Don't mind Sharpay. She's usually nicer than that now. PMS, probably."

"As long as that's the worst she gets now, it's okay. I've been going to school with you guys since, what, junior high? I can deal with Sharpay. I used to just ignore her." _Jeez, can I just shut up now? _Chad thought to himself. Something about Ryan just made him want to spill his guts. And he'd tried so hard to stay _cool_.

"I remember when we first started at East Junior High. Shar and I were introduced to your homeroom. You and the jocks took one look at us and burst out laughing." Ryan said tentatively.

How could Ryan remember that? Chad hardly did. "Yeah, but we were stupid. And you're a jock too. A damn good one."

"Just with baseball." Ryan replied. He reached over to dip his paintbrush in more paint. "And believe it or not, Sharpay was there for me. She's growing up too, you know. Just... slower than the rest of us."

Chad grinned. "Fifteen years later, Sharpay is this serious, like, broker or something, and she puts the rest of us to shame."

"Yeah, right." Ryan snickered.

"Hey, Ryan, are you smart in math?" Chad suddenly asked. He didn't want to ask about Ryan's English, since last year Ryan couldn't read G-O-D-R-A-M-A-C-L-U-B-! on the basketball team's t-shirts.

"I'm okay in it. I got a B last year." Ryan admitted.

"Good enough! I seriously need help with the homework for tonight. I looked at it, and seriously, it's going to give me nightmares. I'd ask Taylor, but she's busy. She got a job." Chad didn't mention that Taylor's job was on the weekend, not after school. Anything that let him spend more time with Ryan.

"I guess I could help you, if you want to come over to my house after this." Ryan replied, shrugging.

Yes! Chad thought, but did his best to remain cool. "Sounds cool. But if I fail and get kicked off the team, it's on you."

"What!?" Ryan exclaimed. He gave Chad a very surprised you-can't-be-serious look.

Chad grinned at the blond boy. "Kidding. I'm kidding."

Ryan's smile enough and laugh were just enough to make Chad thankful that his pants were pretty baggy.

o O o O o O o O o

"What are YOU doing here?!" Sharpay exclaimed when both Chad and Ryan approached her car. Ryan had warned Chad that Sharpay would do this, and that he should let him explain.

"Chad's coming with us, Shar. I'm helping him with his math homework." Ryan told his sister as he opened the back door. To Chad he said "Get in."

"Why isn't your brainy girlfriend helping you?!" Sharpay cried in that dramatic Sharpay-like way.

"Sharpay, Chad's my _friend_. I swear." Ryan said sternly.

Ryan and his sister exchanged a mutually odd look. Some weird message was passing between them. Chad had no idea what it was about, but he guessed it had to do with why Sharpay was being so rude (besides the usual reasoning that this was, after all, Sharpay).

Finally, Sharpay sighed. "Fine, get in." Her brother gave her a smile in thanks before they all climbed into the extremely flashy, expensive sports car.

o O o O o O o O o

Their house was huge. Chad gaped in awe and would have stood there for hours, but he heard Ryan telling him to follow him.

Ryan led him through the mansion to his room. Chad wished he could be surprised by what Ryan's room was decorated with, but he wasn't. He recognized one of the photos on the wall, so he guessed everyone else was a musical star too.

"Nice walls."

What was that? Was that a _blush_ Chad saw on Ryan Evans' face? "Yeah. They're all actors. And singers. In musicals."

"Like who?"

Ryan began pointing out some. "Matthew Morrison and Marissa Jaret Winokur from Hairspray... Michael Arden... he was in Bare: A Pop Opera. Amazing voice. John Gallagher Jr. from Spring Awakening." Then he pointed to the one that Chad recognized. "And that's-"

"Michael Crawford. Phantom of the Opera." Chad finished. Ryan just stared at him. "Right?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

Instead of lying and being all smooth like he could have, Chad blurted out the truth. "My mom has a picture of him in our fridge."

Ryan burst out laughing. "What?! Why?!"

"A diet thing, I think." Chad told him. He couldn't help smiling either. "Math?"

"Right. Math." Ryan repeated, and quit laughing.

The two got their math books out and sat on Ryan's extremely comfortable rug and spread out their books.

"What exactly do you need help with?" Ryan asked.

"All of it." Chad replied automatically.

"That's specific."

Ryan began helping him through the problems. Everything was going well until Chad messed up.

"See, you take the square root and divide it, and get..." That was when Ryan leaned over to look at Chad's paper, and before Chad could cover it, Ryan saw that Chad had all of the answers already. "Chad, why do you have all of the answers to the homework?"

"Uh..." The truth was that Chad had done it all in study hall. "It's yesterday's!" He shoved the paper into his folder.

"No, it's not! I saw the answer I was going to give you. That's today's homework!"

Chad looked him square in the eye. "So what's your point?"

"Why are you here?"

That should have been such a simple question to answer. Chad just sat there staring at the other boy, the one he wouldn't have been caught dead hanging out with a year ago.

"Why do you, think?" Chad challenged him.

"I think," Ryan began slowly. "that you wanted to get me alone." He didn't have to say why. Chad knew.

"Don't flatter yourself." Chad lied. "I don't like guys. Sorry."

"Just like you don't dance? We all know how that turned out."

"In this case, I'm right."

"Oh." Ryan said. What was THIS? He actually looked disappointed and a little embarrassed. "Never mind then. Sorry. I thought... but then again, you do have a girlfriend. Sorry."

Chad quickly weighed the things that mattered. Ryan mattered. Taylor mattered. His jock status mattered. Which mattered the most to him? If done wrong, he could possibly lose all of it.

"Oh, screw it."

Ryan, who had been looking at his math book, looked up at Chad.

Chad pushed all of the books aside and moved closer to Ryan.

"Why do you have to be right all the freakin' time?" Chad asked the blond before closing the distance between their mouths.

o O o O o O o O o

Chad wandered out of Ryan's room to find the bathroom a bit later, still completely dazed. He hadn't known kissing could feel like that. He'd kissed Taylor and he thought he'd kind of liked it, but with Ryan, there was actual fireworks... and more stuff.

All Chad really knew was that THIS was what he wanted. He wanted Ryan. Ryan, and his passion, his determination, his spirit, and even his vulnerabilities.

But now that he knew, what was he supposed to do?

"SO." Sharpay said, appearing out of nowhere in all her pink glory. "It looks like you had fun with Ryan."

"It wasn't fun. Well, it was, but it was... Wait, it was math."

"Please." said the teenage drama queen. "You weren't doing math. You sure were having fun, though." She stepped closer. "But believe it or not, I'm not mad at you for seducing my brother. I just have one thing to say to you."

"And what's that, Sharpay?" Chad asked, acting bored.

She stepped even closer. "He's an Evans. I'm an Evans. That means that if you hurt my brother, I hurt you. Got it?"


	4. Taylor's Sneaky

**It has been absolutely FOREVER since I've updated, and for that I apologize. You know what I blame? SCHOOL!**

**Thanks to all the people that have R&R'd this story so far though. **

**It's kind of a short chapter, but I feel it's a necessary one. Haha. **

o O o O o O o O o

The next day at school, Chad didn't know how to act. He was kind of worried that if Ryan came up to him at his locker, or if he slipped Ryan a note, that people would put two and two together. Chad wasn't ready to let everyone know about him and Ryan, but he wasn't going to ignore him either. They had talked about it and agreed to keep it a secret at school for a little while. Then they had gone to Sharpay and asked her to keep quiet. She was actually supportive of the whole thing. She might have been a bitch the previous day, but she _was_ growing up.

In homeroom, Chad sat down, and Ryan followed him in and sat beside him. He gave Ryan a smile, but the smile disappeared as Troy walked in, and gave him a strange look. It wasn't a weirded out look, just a curious one. It made Chad really self-conscious though. What made him feel even more self-conscious was when Sharpay came into homeroom and gave him a smug look.

"Mr. Danforth!" Darbus said as she walked into the classroom. "I think you all have something to tell us."

"What?!" Chad snapped, and looked at Ryan and his sister. They both gave him confused looks. But why were they confused? They obviously had told Darbus!

"Your artistic skill, Mr. Danforth! You should have told us sooner!" Darbus exclaimed happily.

Oh. _That_ was it? That was a major relief. "I don't have that much artistic skill, Ms. Darbus." Chad told her.

To that, Darbus made a "psshhhh" sound and began her usual "You should be in the school musical" lecture.

After homeroom, Taylor followed Chad to his locker. Well, walked beside him and talked. Chad didn't exactly invite her. She continued to talk until she stopped and said, "Chad, you're acting weird."

Chad turned to look at her. "Weird? How!?"

"Well, you don't respond to anything I say." Taylor replied. "And you just snapped at me."

"I didn't _snap_ at you..." Chad began. He looked past her when he saw Ryan walking toward them. "Listen, Taylor, I'll see you later." Before she could respond, he hurried away from her and to his savior. "Hey, Ryan."

"You up for math later?" Ryan asked him, raising his eyebrows suggestively. It was their code.

"I'm up for math right now." Chad said. "But I have to get to class."

"Lunch?"

"Parking lot?"

"I'll be there."

o O o O o O o O o

"Guys, Chad is acting really strange." Taylor said. She stood in the hallway with Gabriella and Troy, at Gabriella's locker. "He's hardly talking to me."

"Maybe he just isn't feeling well." Gabriella suggested. She looked at Troy, who just shrugged.

Taylor nodded a little. "You could be right. I think I'm going to go confront him once and for all."

"Good luck with that." Troy told her, looking at Gabriella oddly. His face didn't match what he said. It was more of a she's-better-off-not-knowing look. The couple seemed to exchange a silent message. They knew what was going on. They knew what was going on, and they didn't want to tell her.

Taylor nodded and headed toward Chad's locker. He was shutting his locker as she walked up behind him, and then turned the opposite way. Toward the exit. Strange. Taylor decided not to say anything as she followed him, and she tried her best to keep quiet.

She followed him until he walked out the door, and then stood at the window so she could get a good look at him.

Chad was in the parking lot all by himself, but then someone walked up to him from his side. Ryan Evans? What was Chad doing, meeting Ryan Evans in the parking lot? They smiled at each other, Chad a little bit more nervous than the blond boy, and then proceeded to walk to Ryan's car.

They didn't take the car anywhere, but Taylor couldn't see inside it because it had tinted windows.

What were they _doing_?

She wouldn't be able to ask Chad straight out what was going on - that would be too awkward. And she wouldn't be able to ask Ryan. It would just be too weird. Gabriella and Troy wouldn't tell her, so they were out. Then there was Sharpay. No. Just no.

What could she do?

As she walked back toward the other lockers, and to the cafeteria, she came up with a plan that she could use - a way to find out what was going on with the two boys.

And best of all, it would drive Chad crazy.

Hopefully.


	5. Taylor is the new Sharpay

Hi guys! I realize this chapter is lame and it sucks. I apologize. But, hey, at least I've got another chapter. School kept me busy for a long time. Enjoy. Haha.

Also, I'm not a Taylor fan, which is kind of why I turned her mean for this story. I apologize if you're a Taylor fan. Please don't hate me!

o O o O o O o O o

The next day, Chad decided he should be nicer to Taylor. Just because he was sneaking around with Ryan didn't mean he had to act like a jerk. She ignored him a good portion of the morning, but before English class, he stopped by her locker. "Taylor, I'm sorry I've been a jerk."

She looked at him, confused. "You've been a jerk?"

He hadn't? Chad was sure he'd been ignoring her. "Yeah, I thought so. I know we haven't been hanging out lately. I've just been really busy. Basketball and drama and stuff."

Taylor flashed him an icy smile. "I'm sure you have. We're going to be late for English."

She slammed her locker shut and walked past him. Chad was perplexed. Girls were so weird. Good thing Ryan wasn't like that.

He walked into class and sat in his seat. Troy saw him and asked, "Hey man, you okay?"

Chad didn't say anything. He simply nodded.

o O o O o O o O o

It all happened so fast.

Troy couldn't believe it. The way it happened. Or that Taylor would do such a thing.

Their teacher announced that they would be doing a partner project. Troy figured he would work either with Chad or Gabriella, but Chad MIGHT want to work with Ryan. He noticed Ryan and Chad exchange some kind of gushy look that confirmed his suspicions.

"Who would like to choose their partner first?" their teacher asked.

Taylor's hand went up so fast, Troy hardly saw it move.

"Yes, Taylor?"

"I'd like Ryan Evans as my partner."

That was when all hell broke loose.

Just quietly.

Gabriella whispered something to Taylor, which Taylor replied to, and made Gabriella even angrier. She gave Troy a hopeless look, and then raised her hand.

The rest of the partner picking wasn't too bad. Troy and Gabriella ended up together, and Chad ended up with Martha. Sharpay ended up with a kid with body odor and greasy hair. But Troy noticed a battle forming. Chad and Ryan kept exchanging confused looks, Sharpay shot daggers with her eyes at Taylor, and Gabriella ignored her.

They had the rest of the class to work on their projects.

Taylor moved next to Ryan, and Chad moved next to Martha. Both guys sulked. Could they be any more obvious?

"I can't believe her." Gabriella said. "She's only doing it to be mean to Chad."

Troy nodded. "I know. Did you see how they're reacting to it?"

"I feel so sorry for them."

Troy and Gabriella watched both pairs. Martha and Chad worked, but Chad was freaking out at the same time. Taylor kept touching Ryan's arm and leaning in close to him. Even Gabriella, who under normal circumstances would have wanted to work eventually, couldn't work on the project. Whatever Taylor was doing was too distracting. And too unbelievable.

"This is so weird. Doesn't she realize Ryan's not reacting to her flirting?" Gabriella whispered.

"Maybe she doesn't care." Troy replied. Was she just getting back at Chad for going out with Ryan? How did she find out in the first place?

The showdown happened in the hallway.

The moment they stepped out of the classroom, Gabriella grabbed Taylor's arm and asked her, "What do you think you're doing?"

Everyone gathered around, even Chad and Ryan.

"Whatever do you mean, Gabriella?" Taylor asked. She tried to play innocent.

"You know. You took Ryan as your partner because you knew he and Chad wanted to work together. I expected better from you, Taylor."

Taylor laughed. "Are you done yet?"

Gabriella was taken aback. "No, actually. I never thought you'd be this mean to anyone. I thought you were nice. You took me under your wing when I moved here last year. And now what? You become a superwitch. If you want to get through to Chad, why don't you just talk to him?"

The other girl didn't reply. She simply smiled, and walked away. The crowd cleared, except for Gabriella, Troy, Ryan, Chad, and Sharpay.

Gabriella sighed and turned to Ryan and Chad. "I'm sorry, guys. I don't know what's wrong with her."

"Thanks Gabriella. You didn't have to do that." Ryan said, smiling. "But I'm glad it was you and not me."

"You guys are my friends." Gabriella said. She looked at Troy, and he nodded, telling her it was okay to explain more. "And we know. Troy and I know about what's going on. We don't want anyone to ruin it for you."

Chad was the most shocked out of them. He turned to Troy, a surprised, yet happy look on my face. "You... know? And you're still my friend?"

"Yeah, man, why wouldn't I be your friend? We've been bros since preschool." Troy said. "You've got my support."

"And mine." Gabriella said, nodding firmly.

"And mine!" Sharpay added.

It was the first time Troy ever wanted to hug Sharpay. The ice princess, the queen bee of East High, was finally growing up.

And it looked like Taylor McKessie was the new Sharpay Evans.


	6. O hay Martha

**There's no way around this. I'm a big ol' procrastinator. **

o O o O o O o O o

Over the next couple of months, even though her attitude suggested nothing had happened, Taylor separated herself from everyone. Chad didn't understand what her problem was. Even if she'd liked him, there was no reason to act so bitchy. Even Gabriella couldn't get through to her.

Their group all sat together now without Taylor. Even Sharpay, who had surprised Chad. Who knew she had a heart?

And even though everyone else seemed to have given up on Taylor, Chad didn't. They'd been friends. She'd never acted like this before. Then again, she had probably never wanted to date a guy who turned out to prefer guys to her. Especially a guy like Ryan.

The idea of Ryan made Chad grin widely. The fact that his friends, especially Troy, were fine with them going out made him grin even wider.

But he still felt guilty about Taylor. He tried to go up to her in the hallway a couple of times, just to apologize, but she always froze him out.

Then he read the article she submitted anonymously to the school paper.

He didn't even normally read the school paper, but during lunch one day, Gabriella sat down at their table with a distressed look on her face. "Chad, there's this article in the school paper about you and Ryan. Well, it's not just about you guys, but..."

"Can I see?"

Gabriella handed it to him. As soon as he read the headline, he understood.

_PDA is Worse Among the Homosexual Relationships at East High_

"WHAT THE?!" Chad exclaimed, and looked at Gabriella.

She gave him an apologetic look. "It gets worse." Chad turned back to the article. It was short, but horrible.

_Public displays of affection (PDAs) are a problem here at East High. You know what I'm talking about. Hand holding, kissing and the like. But can someone please tell me why I hardly ever see this among the heterosexual couples of East High anymore, while homosexual couples are frolicking along, making out in the corridors? Just the other day, I ran into my almost-ex-boyfriend. I had been looking for him for awhile so that I could apologize for how things ended. I found him on the stairs in a heavy makeout session with his new boyfriend. I won't tell you who the guy is, let's just say he and his sister have played lovers in musicals before (gross, much?) and he has a love of extremely flamboyant hats. I tried to get their attention, but my ex just shoed me away. Not that they have read the school's code of conduct or anything, but who do they think they are? Do they think people want to see their heavy makeout session? I say this problem has to be stopped. Either we keep these couples apart, or enforce these rules, especially for same-sex couples. It's a new trend, and it needs to be ended. _

"She's SO messed up!" Chad exclaimed. "Ryan barely kissed me on the CHEEK that day. That's the heavy makeout session she says she saw! And she didn't come up to me to apologize. She didn't even come up to us at all, or talk to us!"

When Troy read the article, he noted, "Woah, man. That's screwed up. What's wrong with her? Why is she trying to make your life hell?"

"It's a pretty big, dramatic punishment for finding out you're with Ryan." Kelsi agreed.

"Not to mention she's told me she's pro-gay." Gabriella chimed in.

Sharpay and Ryan were, of course, offended by the reference to them playing lovers in musicals. Maybe they had, but it was for the sake of the theatre!

"I'm going over there." Sharpay said angrily, looking at Taylor's table. The girl was reading a book with an expressionless look as if she wasn't smug about the article in the paper.

When Sharpay stood up, Ryan grabbed her shirt. "Wait, Shar. I have an idea. We all have to go along with it, though."

Of course they all did.

o O o O o O o O o

"Hey Taylor, wait up!"

Taylor turned around to see Martha Cox running to catch up to her. She couldn't remember if she hated Martha or not. She was friends with her ex-friends, but she hadn't seen them hanging out with them. She guessed that Martha was okay to talk to.

"Hi, Martha."

"Taylor, I wanted to tell you that your article in the paper was genius." When Taylor probably looked shocked, Martha continued. "I know it was anonymous, but I figured it out with the reference to Sharpay and Ryan. I also wanted to tell you I know how you feel. I kind of liked Ryan. I know what you're going through."

Martha genuinely looked heartbroken. And Taylor _had_ seen Martha hanging out with Ryan at times. "Thanks, Martha. I appreciate that. I didn't have permission to put that article in, and they'll probably print a retraction in the next issue, but I needed to get that out there. The school needs to be aware of the problem."

"Tell me about it." Martha agreed. "How did you get it printed if you didn't get permission?"

"I just snuck it in there one day after school. No big deal." shrugged Taylor. "I had to. Chad and Ryan are ruining the school experience."

"Speaking of school," Martha said. "I was wondering if you could help me with some of my physics homework. I just got a new job so I've fallen a little behind in the class."

_Why not_, thought Taylor. She could take a little time off of her campaign of preventing Ryan and Chad's relationship to help a friend. Especially one whose support she had and knew what she was going through.

They went into the physics classroom to work on Martha's homework.

When they sat down together at one of the lab desks, in a flash, someone suddenly jumped out from behind the teacher's desk, and shut the door. Taylor looked over to see Troy Bolton locking the door. It was a new lock. That was all she could think of. What was going on? She looked to the back room that had the physics computers, but she was too late. Chad, Ryan, Sharpay, Gabriella, and Kelsi came out and locked the door. Again with the new locks. Then she looked at Martha. The look on her face made it clear that she had just tricked her.

Stupid. How could she have fallen for that?

Taylor stood up and ran over to the door.

"Don't bother, Taylor. The new locks we just put on lock from the inside, and can only be unlocked with a special code that only we know." Gabriella said.

As her group of ex-friends began to surround her, she asked what exactly was going on.

"An intervention." Chad said calmly.

Taylor laughed. "What? An intervention?! You have got to be kidding me."

"We're not letting you go until we get what we want. Even if it takes all night." Ryan said.

Taylor looked at Sharpay. "You don't want to do this, do you? Being holed up in a classroom? It's not fabulous enough in here for you. Come on, Sharpay. Let me out of here."

Sharpay shook her head. "I've made my share of mistakes but you went too far. You insulted me and my brother, and now you're going to have to pay."

"We don't want to hurt her." Kelsi told Sharpay. "We just want her to stop being so mean."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. She then she got up in Taylor's face. "I meant what I said. I want you to pay. You hurt my brother. So we're not leaving until we get what we want. No matter what takes."

"Keep me here as long as you want. I'm right." Taylor insisted.

Chad looked at Ryan. "This is going to be a long night."

Damn right it was going to be.

Taylor wouldn't let them get away with this.

o O o O o O o O o

**I hope you didn't, like, hate Martha when I first introduced her in this chapter. She was a pawn in the plan to get back at Taylor, so she obviously doesn't agree with Taylor! :)**


End file.
